Maybe it was a little bit of everything.
But it mattered more to me what he was doing than what he promised.
Six months after the day in the port, I got a message from him.
“Claire, I only understood how hard it was for you alone with the girls. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me.’
I read the message and felt a quiet sadness.
It was the first time Ryan had apologised without adding an explanation about the nature of men, loneliness or his needs.
I replied:
“I hope you don’t miss their lives when they need you.”
That’s it.
During the same period, I began to rebuild my own life.
In the first months after the breakup, I had the impression that everything revolved around the little girls, lawyers and documents. It was hard for me to remember who I was before I became a wife and mother.
